Moreover, Trump in an interview to Reuters expressed his eagerness to scrap the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) trade deal with Canada and Mexico.

However, the general pessimism was offset by announcements from the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank, where both institutions affirmed their commitment to a loose monetary policy.

Moreover, the strong likelihood of Emmanuel Macron becoming the next French president could also be a stabilizing factor to the market downturn.

The following index quotes were logged on 8:00am BST.

Japan: Nikkei- Down by 0.29% to 19,196.74

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism revealed on Friday that Japan's housing prices marginally rose by 0.2% year-on-year in March. Economists forecasted a 2.6% decline for the month, imitating a 2.6% decline for February.

Troubled electronics conglomerate Toshiba Corp (+1.76%) emerged as one of the strongest performers.